


Slow Drip

by Violets_Are_Purple



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, Character Death, F/F, F/M, Factions, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Plague, Post-Apocalypse, but dont worry theres gonna be some soft stuff and shenanigans too, idk there might be smut? depends on if i can throw away my pride, please please dont get too attached to people PLEASE at least 6 people die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:01:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28042854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violets_Are_Purple/pseuds/Violets_Are_Purple
Summary: "You could say we were survivors. Though it was mostly luck, selfishness, and cowardice that got us through it all. The same forces that drive us now. But no one likes to think about that; just keep on keeping on, and don't think about the past. That's one of the few things all of the factions can agree on."-Koushi Sugawara, co-leader of the Blackfeather faction
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Daishou Suguru/Terushima Yuuji, Ennoshita Chikara/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Futakuchi Kenji/Moniwa Kaname, Haiba Lev/Yaku Morisuke, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kindaichi Yuutarou/Kunimi Akira, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Semi Eita/Shirabu Kenjirou, Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is gonna be a heavy one. Lots of things going on, lots of death, lots of psychological issues. Be warned.  
> But fear not !! It has a playlist! No specific order, just the vibes. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6eFbXevjwY2AVNUMfibVSn
> 
> Don't expect too frequent updates, but it WILL NOT be abandoned. I have put too many hours and all-nighters into coming up with this idea thoroughly to give up. ever.  
> Um anyways, enjoy I think?

_Just one… more… drop…_  
I press down the trigger of the pipette, releasing the dark red blood into an empty test tube. This will be the last sample I make today, and tomorrow they’ll have to go in the centrifuge. I click a cap onto the tube, sealing it from contamination. Later, I’ll probably collect some cultures, then we’ll figure out what to do from there.

  
My shoulders sag in exhaustion-- I’ve been in the lab since dawn, running tests and separating samples. Now I can barely see the dark outline of the trees outside of the singular window. I let out a whoosh of air, relieved that I could finally go home.

  
“You done for the day?” My good friend and fellow biochemist asks down a few tables to my left. The messy-haired man shows no signs of being ready to leave, as usual.

  
“Yeah,” I say, leaning back in my chair, feeling my back pop, as I haven’t moved from my hunched-over position in about an hour. “Are you sure you’re gonna stay? You really need to get some rest.” Tetsurou Kuroo, part-time biochemist, full-time stress magnet. He always took on so much responsibility, and I always found it difficult to keep his self-destructive habits in check.  
“Yeah, yeah. Make sure Lev doesn’t try to sneak extra food again for me, m’kay?” Kuroo says, shaking his head.

  
“Kuroo…”

  
“I’ll only stay for a few more hours, alright?” He gives me a sideways smirk. “Is that what you want to hear?” I roll my eyes, walking over to the door, and removing my lab coat and gloves. I move to hang them by my coat, but nearly drop them as a loud bang! resonates through the white-walled building.

  
Kuroo’s head snaps up from what he was doing, eyes locking with mine in a silent question: Gunfire? He quickly rips off his goggles, walking in fast, long strides towards the lab door, lab coat fluttering while I trail behind, having to jog to keep up with my taller counterpart. For a moment, all is silent, save for the sound of our footsteps rushing down the hallway.

  
We reach the entrance of the building, where Kuroo suddenly stops. I nearly run into him, my momentum pushing me forward. My heart thumps, cold dread filling me from head to toe. If the sound we heard was gunfire, we’d be completely unprotected from whatever threat was in the lobby. If it wasn’t… then what could it be?

  
I step to Kuroo’s side, peering around to get a better view. In the hallway beside us, a medic has also rushed to the scene, his eyebrows shooting up so high that they’re invisible behind his ash-blond hair. That’s when I really take in the chaos before me.

  
Two people are standing just inside the doorway, wide-eyed, and faces flushed. Between them, they support a man whose head droops down, hair plastered onto his face, which is sheened with sweat. I notice the dripping trail of blood that runs from the man’s side, down his camo pants, and then onto the pristine white tiles of the floor. The sound must have been from them flinging open the front door.

  
“Yuuji?” Kuroo says uneasily. One of the men holding up the unconscious one shakes his head, bleached hair swishing. The wild card Scouts’ leader, Yuuji Terushima.

  
“No time to explain. Just help him,” he pants. Kuroo nods. I run back down the way we came to grab a rolling bed. I shouldn’t be worried. We’re used to this. Border scuffles to animal attacks, we get it all, even at such odd hours of the night. It’s always “save a life first, ask questions later.”

  
But something… something about this case is different. I don’t know if it’s the look in Terushima’s eyes or something else entirely, but the whole situation feels off.

  
We haul the man onto the stretcher, his only response being a slight groan of agony. Konoha and Kuroo wheel him away farther into the hospital as I turn to Terushima with a questioning look on my face.

“So which of the factions was it this time?” I ask.

  
“None of them,” he replies. He chuckles slightly at my shocked expression.

  
“What?” I say in bewilderment. Terushima shakes his head.

“We found what kinda looked like an abandoned faction base. Everything was destroyed, there were dead bodies everywhere. And we thought he was one of them.”

  
I stare at him for a moment, trying to take this in. Of course, we’d always figured that there were other faction-like communities out there, and us finding one wasn’t shocking. But… destroyed?

  
“What… do you think happened there?” I ask cautiously. Terushima shrugs, trying to hide his trembling shoulders, clearly horrified at the memory.

  
“It looked like a massacre.” He looks me dead in the eyes. “And our mystery man seemed to be the only survivor.”


	2. Living

You could say we were survivors. Though it was mostly luck, selfishness, and cowardice that got us through it all. The same forces that drive us now. But no one likes to think about that; just keep on keeping on, never think about the past. That’s one of the few things all of the factions can agree on.

The plague was more than horrific, more than terrifying. There’s no word to describe the constant fear and pain the whole world was feeling at once during those times. That fear turned to paranoia, that paranoia into violence, so that the unforgiving stew of humanity and pathogens ended up wiping out a clean ninety-five percent of the population of the world. 

I remember thinking,  _ I just wanna live _ . Which wasn’t looking to be a very likely fate. We called it the Red Plague, it’s scientific name forgotten, mostly because of the gruesome way its victims died. A brain hemorrhage caused blood to leak out of the eyes, nose, and mouth, the victim drowning in their own blood if they didn’t bleed out first. I couldn’t begin to imagine the pain they must have been in, but soon after it all started, it seemed I didn't have to.

One night, I had been sleeping somewhat restlessly in my apartment. I would have been in my dorm with my roommate, Teshiro Hidemi, but everyone had been kicked out as soon as things started to get worse. I tossed and turned, having some kind of nightmare when I suddenly jolted awake. I was disoriented, scared. My heart was racing in my chest, and my entire body was shaking violently. I tried standing up, but my legs gave out beneath me. I lashed out trying to find a tether to keep myself upright, only managing to drag the lamp beside my bed down with me...

_ I heard a whisper from the other side of the room. “Suga?” Hidemi said. I just stood there for a moment, too terrified to say anything. Tremors. The first sign of the Red Plague. _

_ “No,” Hidemi whispered. So many thoughts were running through my head that I couldn’t respond. If I’d had it, he probably did too.  _

_ “Suga!” my roommate shouted in disbelief. “Did you go out? I told you it was too risky--” _

_ “I didn’t!” I said back, attempting to pull myself upright, still shaking. I wondered what was next, what would happen now? “I promise I didn’t! It must have been something brought in…” _

_ I can sense Hidemi staring at me with intense concentration. He won’t move on without figuring out what brought the virus into our safe haven. _

_ “The groceries… they must have had… when they were delivered…” _

_ “I’m so sorry I’m making you deal with this,” I said, holding my head, feeling my hands trembling against my cheeks. “I understand if you want to leave--” _

_ “Leave?” he interrupted with an incredulous look. “Why the hell would I do that? I’ve probably already got it anyway, and where’s there for me to go?” _

That’s the thing about a plague. Where was there for anyone to go? To escape?

I’m dragged up from the depths of my thoughts by a knock on my bedroom door. What time is it? It can't already be morning.

“Suga! You’re late to breakfast,” a boyish voice says, muffled by the wooden door. That was Hinata for sure, probably bribed to wake me up with extra food by Daichi. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” I respond with a yawn, stretching out my limbs on the scratchy linen. I could honestly go down in what I wore to bed, but Daichi insists that I “maintain a professional appearance.” Professional appearance my ass. Those idiots know to respect me whether I’m wearing a dry-cleaned, starched suit or boxers and a t-shirt.

I slip on a pair of jeans that have faded from a rich navy to a pale robin’s egg, the worst pair that I own. Today’s outfit’s purpose: to annoy Daichi. I eye a shabby, outrageous looking t-shirt that I got while on a Scouts’ run a while ago. The poor thing’s been collecting dust ever since, but now it’ll finally make its debut.

I make my way down the cement stairs, the sounds of breakfast being eaten echoing around the cavernous room. As I approach the table, out of the corner of my eye I see a man of short stature snickering from my left. He nudges the larger man beside him, who looks up at me and chokes on his water. I don’t pay them any mind. The brown-haired man at the head of the table seems to notice their behavior and looks behind him to where I’m standing. I place my hands on the back of his chair, smiling sweetly.

“Morning, Daichi,” I say cheerfully. The look of utter disgust on Daichi’s face is exactly what I had intended to elicit from him. I glide over to my empty seat next to him, taking my eyes off of him to look at my full plate. I can feel his burning gaze on me as I dig into the eggs and unbuttered toast that have long gone cold. A standard breakfast for the factions. I hear a stifled snort from my left, where a lean man with sleepy-looking eyes attempts to ignore the situation by staring at his also untouched plate. 

“Morning, Ennoshita!” I watch as he buries his face in his hands, shoulders shaking with suppressed giggles. They all know exactly what I’m playing at.

We all eat very quietly, barely managing to subdue our laughter for several seconds before Daichi breaks the silence.

“What,” he begins, “in the ever-living hell are you wearing?”

“Well, I think it’s great!” Hinata says brightly.

“Why, thank you,” I reply with a grin, completely ignoring Daichi’s original comment. “What do you think, Tsukishima?” I say, referring to the tall blond. He stares at me for a moment, expression unreadable.

“It’s… got character,” Tsukishima says, cracking a smile.

Next to Ennoshita, a man with a shaved head throws his head back and cackles.

“Character? Looks like a whole lotta crazy to me!”

“Well I guess like sees like, doesn’t it Tanaka?” Tsukishima was smirking into his coffee as Tanaka rounded on him.

“What’d you say to me punk?” The look on his face might seem intimidating to anybody else, but the members of Blackfeather are plenty used to his antics.

“Now now Tanaka, settle down before you break something,” Ennoshita speaks up from his seat, grabbing the back of his shirt and forcing him back into his chair. The two begin to bicker back and forth, dragging in the rest of the table as they all chime in to poke fun at my shirt. I lean back in my chair with a smile on my face, observing as my faction dissolves into their normal chatter. I turn to Daichi, about to make a joke about my horrible fashion sense when I’m stopped by his grave expression.

His jaw is set tight, his eyes cast downwards. It’s clear he doesn’t care about the disarray around us. Something must be on his mind.

“Daichi…?” I begin cautiously. “Is something wrong?” He gives me a slightly startled look as if he’d forgotten that I was there.

“Ah, last night was pretty... eventful,” Daichi says vaguely. “I was just thinking of how I was going to explain it to the rest of the faction.” 

Eventful? What was that supposed to mean?

“What happened?” I ask. Daichi gives me a sideways look.

“Well, I thought that now would be a perfect time to explain. But you got them all riled up!” I give him a sheepish smile.

“Whoops… guess I can’t help being this interesting.” 

Daichi gives me a quick glare as he rises from his seat to get their attention.

“Listen up!” Daichi says, raising his voice to overcome the volume of the room. The booming sound of his words instantly puts a hush over the men.

“Yesterday,” he begins, “the Scouts went on an exploration trip. Not towards the city, but past the Wing’s fields in the North direction. They discovered a civilization similar to ours--”

“Well, it’s not like we didn’t know there were other people out there!” a dark-haired man with a blond fringe exclaims.

“Shush, Noya!” Ennoshita hisses.

“But,” Daichi continues, ignoring the interruption, “in finding this group, the Scouts also found a massacre. They’d been ripped apart. One of their own had gone mad and murdered his allies. Now, normally this wouldn’t be such a big deal, if they’re all dead, there’s not much for us to worry about. We’d just scavenge what we could and mourn and move on, but the Scouts found something interesting.” He takes a small dramatic pause. “A survivor. He’s currently being housed with the Nocturnals at the hospital.” 

Everyone had been silent so far, but with this new information, muttering broke out in the otherwise silent room. There hadn’t been new people in the shared society since the original factions had been formed. They knew there were other people out there of course, but to have one of those outsiders here, in the community? And on top of that, for one person to have taken out an entire group of people?

“How’d he survive?” A man with dark hair and blue eyes asks from his seat near the end of the table. 

“To be honest, Kageyama, we don’t really know. Well, not the specifics at least. The Scouts heard a gunshot from their direction, which led them to their base in the first place. They arrived to find the survivor babbling about how he had to do it. He was in shock, he was losing blood fast from a nasty wound in his stomach, and at his feet was a man with a bullet in his head. The only information they got out of him was that the man was the reason the rest of the group was dead.” 

“What condition is he in?” I don’t know why that's the first thing that comes to mind, but I can’t help but be concerned for him. He just had his entire group wiped out, I can’t even begin to imagine that feeling.

“He was patched up upon arrival, but he hasn’t woken up since the Scouts first found him.” He looks around the room, waiting to see if anyone else has a question. When nobody chimes in, he takes his seat with a sigh. “That’s all the news I have, for now if there are any more developments, I’ll let you guys know,”

The unsteady silence in the room was quickly broken as its inhabitants began to murmur to each other. I sit back in my chair and turn my attention to Daichi. I can tell by the far-away expression on his face that his mind is still elsewhere. I glance around, ensuring that nobody is paying too much attention, and lean over to him.

“Is that really all there is?” I say under my breath. 

He looks around like I did moments before, then nods to the stairway behind us. We both get up, excusing ourselves as quietly as we can, and make our way upstairs to the balcony. 

“So what else did the Scouts find?”

“No, it's not-- the Scouts didn’t find anything else, that’s not the problem here. I’m worried about the Wing and Bluecastle.”

“What about them? What’s been going on?”

“Nothing definite yet, but according to Moniwa, tensions have been high. There have been some skirmishes on the borders. Apparently, Oikawa has sent some people into the Wing’s territory, where the forest is.”

Of course, it was Oikawa. Bluecastle as a whole isn’t that bad, the people were nice enough, but their leader always seems to be in some kind of trouble.

“Why do you think he would send people into their territory?” 

We both jump and turn around to see Ennoshita leaning against the wall behind us. 

“How long have you been there?” Daichi says, obviously annoyed that he didn’t hear the man sneak up behind us.

“Long enough to know that Bluecastle has been stirring up trouble.” He walks over to where we are on the balcony. “Do you think Oikawa is going to try to take some of the Wing’s forest?”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Daichi leans back against the banister. “If our sources of food and electricity go to war with each other, who knows what will happen.” 

I know he couldn’t care less about the well-being of the other factions, which was fair, since our own faction is our top priority. To us, they are only resources, especially referring to the two in question. 

“Do we know what sparked the conflict?” Ennoshita asks.

“There was some trouble over the distribution of food on the Wings side. I don’t know exactly why but Bluecastle didn’t get their promised amount. That and Oikawa’s an ass. There’s going to be a meeting with all of the heads of factions to discuss the dispute, so when that happens,” Daichi sighs, “I guess I’ll clue you guys in.”

“You guess?” I say, a smirk playing on my lips.

“Ennoshita is so nosy I’d be more surprised if he  _ didn’t _ try to pry the information from me.”

“What about Suga?” Ennoshita says with a smile, not at all trying to deny that fact.

“Like I could keep anything from Suga.” I let out a short burst of laughter. 

“And you know it.” I can’t keep a smile off my face as I bump Daichi's shoulder with my own, looking into his eyes.

“I’ll take that as my cue to leave,” Ennoshita begins to walk back towards the staircase, “I’ve pried enough information for today.”

“Good, don’t come back,” Daichi calls to him, “nobody likes it when you stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Like that’d ever stop me,” he calls over his shoulder, “I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone for now, but I’ll be back after the conference.” 

Daichi and I chuckle as he disappears into the staircase leading downstairs. 

“He’s just jealous of what we have,” I say with a half-smile, eyes following the path Ennoshita had just taken. “I heard he has a crush. Not sure who, but it seems Noya has been trying to force it out of him. He’ll figure it out eventually, Noya always does.” I look over at Daichi and realize he’s not really paying attention. His eyes are fixed on the floor, the smile on his face replaced by yet another look of concern. I lean into his side, startling him from his thoughts. 

“Oh, come on! Are you still stuck on Bluecastle and the Wing?”

“You could say that,” he lets out a sigh, ”I just know that the Wing’s not going to let this slide, and I can’t help but wonder how they’re going to retaliate.”

“There’s no point in dwelling on it now. We’re just going to have to wait for the meeting to see what happens. Moniwa is a pretty good mediator. Between him and the rest of the heads telling those two numbskulls to knock it off, everything should sort itself out. Plus,” I elbow him in the side, “It’s not like the Wing is mad at  _ us _ . I doubt they’d make all of the other factions suffer because of something Oikawa did. That’d give us reason to side with Blucastle over them, and I don’t think they want to take that risk.”

Daichi looks at me, his eyes still worried before he gives in with a sigh.

“You’re right.” He shakes his head. “It’s just that--”

“No, no ‘it's just’ anything,” I say more forcefully. “No buts, no nothing. We’re not going to worry about that right now. The only thing we are going to worry about is whether or not you think Ennoshita has a thing for Tanaka.”

I watch as his eyes light up with curiosity.

“Tanaka? Where did that come from? I thought you said Noya just had a suspicion.”

“Knew that would pique your interest. He keeps it pretty well hidden, but I’ve noticed that whenever Tanaka gets a little too close, Ennoshita gets really quiet.”

This earns me a laugh. I can feel his shoulder bob up and down against my own.

“Is that all you’re going on?”

“That among other things. Like, do you remember that time Noya and Tanaka got plastered with Terushima the last time he came around? Tanaka fell all over Ennoshita when he came to see what the ruckus was, and they both ended up on the floor. Ennoshita excused himself, claiming ‘that idiot’ made him hit his head, but I swear his face was beet red when he left.” 

“I remember that. The next day Ennoshita wouldn’t look Tanaka in the eye. I figured his pride just got hurt from being knocked down.”

“Nah, he was just avoiding him, like the little love-struck birdie he is.” I rest my head against Daichi's shoulder and feel his warm, solid arm wrap around my waist.

“Well in that case he’s screwed. Tanaka’s about as observant as a volleyball”

“Why a volleyball?”

“Why not?”

I close my eyes, leaning into Daichi. We stand there for a moment, completely comfortable in each other’s presence. 

“This is one of those moments I wish could last forever.” 

“Don’t jinx us, whenever someone says that, the peace is immediately broken.” He chuckles, pulling me closer. “And there are too many opportunities for that to happen over here in Blackfeather.”

“Look who’s jinxing us now.”

“HEY GUYS!”

We both jump as we’re nearly knocked over by an overly-enthusiastic Nishinoya. Of course, it was Noya. It was always Noya.

“Oh… was I interrupting something?” he says slyly, looking between Daichi and me.

Daichi just sighs. “No, Noya. You didn’t interrupt anything. What do you want?”

“I heard that the Wing is harvesting a lot today, and I bet they need some help. Can I bring Hinata and Kageyama with me?” Noya asks, foot tapping restlessly. 

“Hold on a second,” I begin. “You didn’t even ask if you could go yourself! You can’t just--”

“Is it a yes or a no?”

Daichi looks at me with a pained expression. It’s one that clearly reads, ‘You jinxed it, you handle it’.

“Take Tsukishima too. You have to have at least one sane person between you all,” I answer. Noya pouts, though I can’t tell if it’s because of the insult or the fact that Tsukishima, a sardonic teen with a knack for picking on his shorter counterparts, has to go with him.

“Alright, but only if-”

“No, you’ve made your demands already. This is your compromise, it’s as good as you’re gonna get.” 

“I was just gonna say to bring Yamaguchi along so Saltyshima has someone to talk to instead of making fun of us the entire time!”

“And when has Yamaguchi ever dissuaded Tsikkishima from being mean?”

This made Nishinoya pause. I could see him racking his brain, trying to think of a time when Yamaguchi had actually stopped him. He stands there for a good minute, opening his mouth several times, a refute on the tip of his tongue, though nothing came of it in the end. At last, he gives out a dramatic sigh, looking defeated.

“Okay, I’ll take Tsukishima.” We watch as he turns on his heel and starts sprinting back towards the staircase. “ We’re gonna go before you can change your minds! GOODBYE SEE YOU LATER!” And with that, he bounds loudly down the stairs and out of sight.

“Well,” I say, “now that’s sorted. Is there anything else happening today?”

Daichi gives me a teasing look. “You still need to change out of that monstrosity of a shirt you’re wearing.”

“You can pry it off of my cold dead body.” I start to walk away with a smirk on my face. I hear him take after me, and feel his hand slip into mine. We walk down the stairway, bickering about something or other that neither of us really care that much about. Falling into our norm. Letting ourselves forget about the potential problems that loom around every corner.

This is what it is to be us. Cowering survivors, hiding from the solemnity of our surroundings. But y’know, if this is what it means to be a coward, then I think I’m okay with it. We survived because of it, and considering where we started from, our future is looking bright.


	3. Learning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Character death! Not a major character though, don't worry

\---  **Yaku** \---

Silence. Something that brought on a foreboding feeling for those of us still alive. There wasn’t any real kind of danger in this laboratory, but the animalistic instincts that picked up in the year before the factions were formed still press down on us. It was, again, just Kuroo and I in the lab. Konoha was monitoring our mystery patient on the other side of the building. Neither of us has said a word since I found Kuroo passed out on the table this morning, causing a tension that has left us on edge.

It’s his fault. Despite what he said last night, Kuroo never did leave the hospital. I wouldn’t care if his absence hadn’t affected the Alley as much as it has. He hadn’t been back in days, and those times he did stop by were merely to pass out in an actual bed instead of the floor of the laboratory. Not much of a leader if you aren’t around the people you’re supposed to be leading.

Kuroo suddenly slams his hand down on the metal table, rattling the glassware on top of it and breaking the stiffening silence.

“Damn it! What is your problem?” he shouts at me, finally fed up with my silent treatment. 

“Whatever could you mean,” I say icily without looking up from my work.

“You know what I mean. Something is wrong, so just spit it out already!” He stands up from his seat and walks around the table, forcing me to face him.

“Well, it’s less of my problem, and more of the entire Alley’s,” I say bitterly. “You’re never around, stuck in this damn lab day and night! Kai’s pretty much taken up all of your responsibility, and the stress is starting to get to him-“

“Don’t be such a hypocrite!” Kuroo shoots back, eyes flashing at the accusation. “You’ve been working away in here just as much as I have! How does that make you any better than me?”

“At least I go home. I can’t say the same for you,  _ leader _ ,” I growl, anger flaring in my chest, “and I’m not the one they need.”

I take a deep breath, telling myself to calm down. No one would get anywhere with him by just yelling. It also wouldn’t help if this argument got physical, because I’d definitely lose against Kuroo. Plus, such a fight could damage our research and as much as I hate how much time we’ve spent here, I can’t put any of our work in peril.

“Look,” I begin, trying a different tactic, “it’s not just that we need you as a leader. Those guys just need you. They look up to you, and the morale is really down without you being there. Everyones just a little lost, and your absence isn’t helping.”

I watched as Kuroo’s rage visibly simmers down to intense frustration. Maybe he’d see some sense. 

“And Kenma, he’s—“

“I know! I know, okay?” Kuroo chokes out. “I’m doing this for him-- for all of them…”

“I know,  _ they  _ know. That doesn’t stop us from feeling abandoned. Kenma’s not been himself since you’ve been gone, y’know.” 

This really gets his attention. I watch as his eyes shoot up from where they’d been glued to the floor.

“Kai told me that he’s been holed up in his room for most of each day. Even for meals. And he brushes anyone off who tries to talk to him. He thinks you’re avoiding him.” As I speak, I watch as Kuroo's eyes slide back to the floor. “Now, are we going home?”

He sets his jaw. He looks sharply at me, seemingly unable to find a reason good enough to stay.

“Okay.”

We walk over to the sink in the corner and throw away our latex gloves before washing our hands. I wait by the door for Kuroo, making sure he actually follows me out of the lab. I can tell that he’s reluctant; not only am I prying him away from his work, but we’re leaving the lab way earlier than we normally would. We walk through the hospital, beginning the long trek back to the Alley’s headquarters. 

Our base is on the outskirts of the town, smack between Blackfeather and Redtail territory. It’s not too long of a walk, to get home we just take a beaten path along the outskirts of the forest. The worst that could happen was some Redtail strays gave us a once-over and then let us go, seeing as the path ran along the edge of their territory. That only happened on the rare occasion, when a patrol ran into us, and normally such an encounter would end with friendly conversation.

The place we call “home” is probably like something you would find in a horror movie-- an old school, abandoned in the wake of a horrendous plague. Ironically, it’s probably the one place that no one has died in since schools were one of the first things closed down at the beginning of everything. I still can’t help but feel a shiver down my spine when I walk up to it in the late hours of the night, knowing that not a single student has walked its grounds in three years, and likely never will again. I try my best not to walk the ghostly halls alone at night.

We arrive at our base just as the sun is slipping below the horizon as if it was watching over us as we returned. Kuroo stands in partial shadow underneath the walkway to the side entrance, the corners of his mouth downturned into a frown.

“What?” I say, nudging him in the ribs with my elbow. “You nervous? You know it’s been too long if you’re nervous to go back to our own home--”

“I’m not nervous,” he replies sharply, batting me away with large hands. “I just… I’m not ready to talk to Kenma.”

“Oh… you’re not nervous, you’re guilty.” I sigh, placing my hand on the chilly metal handle of the door. “Well, putting it off isn’t gonna make it any better. Come on.” I pull on the door, putting the usual amount of force that it takes to open it, but it gives way much too easily, causing me to stumble back from my momentum.

A man with close-cropped hair stands in the doorway, mirroring the surprise that surely is expressed on my own face. He’s with a tall, silvery-haired boy with vibrant green eyes that look down at me expectantly.

“Yaku-san!” he shouts in delight. I ignore him, responding only to his counterpart.

“Kai?”

“Well, that’s convenient,” he chuckles. “I was just about to send Lev for you two.” 

“What for?” Kuroo inquires. Kai’s expression quickly turns grave he rubs his hand on the back of his neck stressfully

“Ah, well… I think you two should come inside first. Some very interesting events went down just a couple hours ago.”

“Interesting…?” Kuroo mutters as we walk inside. This can’t be good. Kai’s usually very upfront about most things, so for him to stall meant that the news was very, very serious. I suddenly felt like I was back in that silent room, filling me with unease that twists my stomach into nervous knots and presses in from all sides.

The three of us settle into Kuroo’s office, which has slowly turned into Kai’s, sending Lev off to tell the others that we were back. Kai taps his thigh, taking a deep breath before telling us the news.

  
  


\---  **Suga** \---

  
  


“Moniwa was killed?” I repeat in disbelief. “Where did you even get that from?” Daichi sits across from me on the other side of his desk. Nishinoya, Hinata, Kageyama, and Tsukishima had returned from their duties at the Wing, and the former had burst into the office with the startling news.

Tsukishima opens his mouth to explain, but Hinata beats him to it.

“We were over at the Wing and they were being all whispery and stuff and then I think they went off to the Bluecastle border and when they came back we overheard them say that Moniwa was dead and then they sent us all home acting all suspicious!” Hinata says in a rush, eyes alight with adrenaline.

“So…” I say, reeling from the load of information at once. “You weren’t actually told this? You just overheard it, right?”

“Well,” Tsukishima interjects, “It was pretty clear that there was a conflict with Bluecastle since the Wing left with ammunition. But I’m not sure how Moniwa and Iron Wall got involved--”

“You should’ve seen them!” Noya shouts. “They were slinking around and whispering like they’d done it!”

“Wait, let’s not jump to conclusions here--” 

“I dunno, it might’ve been Oikawa. We know Bluecastle was there too.” Kageyama speaks up from behind Hinata, effectively cutting me off.

Daichi hasn’t said a word during this exchange, his fingers laced tightly below his chin in thought.

“We don’t know enough information at the moment to make any assumptions. They clearly didn’t want you four to know whatever happened, so it’s likely that the news hasn’t gotten out yet.” Daichi gives the younger men a sharp look. “Let’s keep this all between us until an official statement is made, alright?”

Hinata and Noya glance at each other with wide eyes, and then turn to Daichi with matching nervous smiles. Of course the two numbskulls can’t tell the difference between what is or is not sensitive. Daichi just sighs heavily while rubbing at his eyes.

“Who else knows?” 

“Well, we passed Ryu and Chikara on the way up here, and we sort of told them about it.” Noya looks down guiltily. “We were just really excited--”

“And Yamaguchi just happened to be at the front entrance…” Hinata adds.

“So you guys told the whole of Blackfeather before you brought this information to me?” Daichi says with a stern look. 

I shouldn’t be surprised. They tell everybody what’s going on before they tell the only people who should actually be concerned with it.

“Don’t rope me into this,” Tsukishima says from the back, “ I didn’t do anything.” 

“Well, you certainly didn’t stop them!” I snap in irritation, a sudden flash of anger coming over me. “So shut up and just listen to what Daichi has to say!” Everyone in the room looks up in surprise at my outburst. I’m taken aback just as much as they are, my hand lifting to cover my mouth as I realize the harshness of my words. I glance over at Daichi, who seems more impressed than surprised.

“Sorry. Just, um… Daichi, continue,” I stammer.

“Right. At the very least,” he says, heaving a sigh, “keep this within Blackfeather. If this is true, I’m sure there will be a meeting about it soon.”

Nishinoya and Hinata nod vehemently, while Kageyama and Tsukishima remain silent.

“You four haven’t eaten dinner yet, have you?” I say, the detail snapping to my attention. Of course, they hadn't; they'd been at the Wing for most of the evening.

“Actually, the Wing gave us food while we were there,” Tsukishima says in his usual monotonous voice. “So we don’t need--”

A shriek from Hinata cuts him off as the office door swings open aggressively, smacking him in the face and sending him flying. In the doorway stands a horrified, freckle-faced boy with messy hair.

“AH! HINATA I’M SO SORRY!” he yells, immediately helping his friend up. I sigh. 

“Maybe knock first next time…” I say wearily. Tadashi Yamaguchi, being just as awkward as always. Hinata holds a hand up to his nose, which promptly begins streaming blood.

“It’s fine,” he warbles, voice muffled. Daichi shakes his head.

“Kageyama, get some tissues for him. And Hinata… please try not to get blood on the floors,” he stresses. Hinata and Kageyama exit the room respectively, and all of the attention goes to Daichi. It’s strange, the way that everyone automatically turns to him whenever there is uncertainty. After a second of Daichi pinching the bridge of his nose with a pained expression, he addresses Yamaguchi, and all eyes shift to the fidgety boy.

“Ah, um, r-right,” he stutters. “Aone-san from Iron Wall is waiting at the door. He says he has urgent news…?” Daichi laughs shortly, but his expression is grim.

“Well there’s that,” he says with a sigh, lifting himself out of his chair. I can hear the slight grief in his voice, how his vowels trembled a bit as he spoke. Moniwa and Daichi knew each other fairly well, as they were both leaders of their factions. The former leader of Iron Wall was kind, almost to a fault, yet he was highly respected by everyone he met. I hadn’t known him well, but I still feel the pinch in my heart knowing that he really, truly is dead.

Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and I watch as Daichi exits the office in silence, not sure what to say. I dismiss the two younger boys, giving myself some time to think.

What does this mean for our relationship with Iron Wall? Or the other factions? Based on what Noya told us, it sounds like the Wing and Bluecastle had something to do with Moniwa’s death, so that’ll cause even higher tensions between the two, maybe reaching a breaking point that would cause a possible all-out war, which is the last thing we need. And now our protection from Iron Wall is unstable, which is worse now that we’ve just found out that there are other groups fairly close, which means that-- 

“Suga,” Daichi’s low voice says as he re-enters the room. “You’re overthinking things again. You’re all still and stuff.” I jump slightly at this, looking up at him. I raise my palms toward him.

“Guilty as charged. But how am I not supposed to overthink it? You know how badly things went the last time a leader died,” I stress. When the Scouts’ leader was driven out not too long ago it led to a lot of problems with trust, and the Scouts were left scrambling to survive. “We can’t do that again.”

Daichi nods. “I know. Aone just came to inform me that the leaders are meeting tomorrow morning. Ushijima time.” Ushijima time just means whenever the Wing’s singular rooster decides to be an annoying fuck-ass in the morning. We had to come up with a universal standard for time since all of our clocks are likely way off.

“We’ll all talk it out and smooth things over.” I make a doubtful noise in the back of my throat. “It’ll be fine, Suga!”

“Alright. I’ll take your word for it. But I swear to god Daichi if you die--”

“What about this meeting makes you think I’d die?” A small smile creeps onto my face.

“-- I’ll never forgive you.” Daichi’s lips turn up slightly at the corners.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”


End file.
